


Rewards

by treegyu



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gay, High School! AU, Long, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 22:04:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12262965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treegyu/pseuds/treegyu
Summary: Jongdae is failing school, so Jongin thinks of cute romantic rewards for his hyung that gets Jongdae to bring up his grades. However, things change in Jongin's life, so he has to figure out a way to continue to keep Jongdae motivated to do good, even when he's not around.





	1. Motivation

Jongdae ran out of school, looking for his boyfriend, Jongin. He and Jongin always walked home together since their houses weren't too far from each other's. He was hoping he and Jongin could take a little longer getting home as he had failed yet another test, and he knew it'd bring his grade down even more than it already was. He didn't want to face his parents when he knew he would have to told them he failed another test even though he promised them he'd study. Spotting Jongin sitting at a bench looking at his phone, he rushed over to greet the boy after a long afternoon. 

"Hey!" Jongdae said happily.

Jongin looked up and smiled, standing up as he put his phone in his pocket. He wrapped his arms around Jongdae's waist to pull him close, connecting their lips in a soft, gentle kiss. After a few seconds, Jongin pulled away and admired Jongdae.

"God, you're so fucking handsome." Jongdae said as he looked into Jongin's eyes.

"Yah! Don't swear at school dummy!" Jongin teased, a big grin quickly spread across his face as he lightly smacked his boyfriend's shoulder.

Jongdae laughed softly and held Jongin's hand as they began walking home. The walk was silent for a few minutes, as Jongdae didn't know what to say. He was nervous Jongin would ask how he did on a test he had for one class, and even though Jongdae did trust Jongin more than anyone else, he never really enjoyed sharing how badly he was failing school. Jongin made him promise he'd bring his grades up or he's not getting kisses until he does.

"So, how did you do on that test, jagi?" Jongin asked, breaking the silence.

"Um, okay..." Jongdae said, hoping Jongin would believe his lie. 

Jongin was very good at detecting when Jongdae was lying because Jongdae lied about his grades often. Jongin let go of Jongdae's hand and stood in front of him. He looked down at the older boy, who was a little shorter than he was. Jongdae looked into Jongin's eyes and knew he had no choice, lying wouldn't get him out of it. Jongdae sighed, handing Jongin the test he got back, the grade written in red ink and circled. Taking it, Jongin stared at the grade, unable to know what to say to Jongdae.

"You didn't study again, did you?" Jongin asked, looking back up at Jongdae.

Jongdae shook his head.

"Why?"

"Because studying is boring!"

Jongin sighed, not knowing what will motivate Jongdae to study. He didn't want Jongdae to fail school, but nothing seemed to motivate him to study. Jongin needed a way to motivate him before he fails school, as the semester was ending soon. Knowing Jongdae, it'd have to be something he'd enjoy. Jongin stood there for a moment thinking of things that'd motivate Jongdae to study.

"Okay, are you willing to make a deal with me?" Jongin asked, looking into Jongdae's eyes.

"Um, sure." Jongdae replied nervously, wondering what Jongin had in mind.

"Alright, if you get a passing grade on any assignment or test, I will reward you."

"With?"

"Well, depending on the grade depends on what kind of romantic reward you'll get.~ If you get good grades in all your classes, then you'll get an even bigger reward."

Jongdae's face brightened, knowing that Jongin would do something romantic for him if he did well and studied. Jongin smiled, seeing how happy Jongdae got, knowing his plan was working so far. Jongdae hugged Jongin tightly.

"I promise to improve in school for you, jagi!" Jongdae said cheerfully.

Jongin hugged back in return, rubbing Jongdae's back gently. The two stayed like that for a minute before they continued walking home. When they arrived at Jongdae's house, Jongin pecked Jongdae's lips before he walked off to his own house. Jongdae watched Jongin disappear into the distance just before nervously entering his house. He sighed softly, grabbing his house key from his pocket before hesitantly unlocking it. He slowly opened the door, expecting his mom to be home.

"Hey honey!" he heard his mom call from the kitchen.

Jongdae walked into the kitchen to greet his mother, shoving his test into his backpack, hoping she won't ask if he did alright on the test. After receiving a kiss on the cheek from his mother, he walked to the kitchen for something to drink. As Jongdae was grabbing a glass for his orange juice, his mother asked the question he was dreading to hear.

"So, how did you do on your science test?" His mom asked.

Jongdae looked at her, watching her cut the vegetables for dinner. He watched for like 10 seconds before he admitted he didn't do as well as he thought as he would do. His mom sighed, asking to know the grade. Jongdae said it wasn't that bad, just not as well as he wanted to do, hoping it would stall her from asking to see the test itself. She knew Jongdae was stalling and demanded to see the test. Setting the orange juice and glass on the table, he grabbed his backpack, taking the test and handing it to his mother. A heavy sigh escaped her when she saw Jongdae failed yet another test.

"Jongdae, do you remember what I said would happen if you failed another test?" his mom asked seriously.

He nodded, looking down a bit. His mom held out her hand, as if she wanted another thing handed to her. Jongdae slowly reached into his pants pocket, pulling out his phone and putting it in his mother's hand. He could feel guilt washing over him, knowing he wouldn't be able to talk to Jongin much until his grades got better, and he felt bad, worried Jongin would get lonely after school.

"You'll get this back when you bring your grades up." his mother said.

Jongdae nodded, walking over to the counter to finish pouring himself a glass of orange juice. He put the carton back in the fridge afterwards and grabbed his backpack. He walked to his room, closing the door behind him with his foot. It was time for him to study and bring his grades up quickly.


	2. Good Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongdae is starting to do better in school, but Jongin is now hiding something from Jongdae that he isn't sure if he can keep a secret for long.

Jongdae happily walked out of school, with his second best grade this week. It was almost to a B, which for him, considering he didn't study as much as he should have, he did pretty good on this test. It was getting closer to the end of the school year, and he almost had A's in all his classes, which he was proud of, along with his mom and Jongin. Of course, Jongin kept his promise and rewarded Jongdae for each good grade he got. The rewards consisted of bubble tea, kisses, and cute little dates later that night. One day, Jongin was told to come home early, leaving him confused on what happened. He texted Jongdae that he was unable to walk home with him today, so but they could hang out later that night to make up for it. Of course, Jongdae was a little sad about having to walk home alone, but he understood and started walking home.

Jongin rushed home, wondering what horrible thing could've happened causing him to have to hurry home as soon as school was over. Well he knew it wasn't too horrible or else his mom would've tried to call him while he was still at school. So Jongin started to slow down, trying to think of what could be so important. As soon as he entered, he noticed his father standing near the entrance to the kitchen. His father should be home 4 hours from now. He was so confused to why he was home at this time, and the first thing to enter his head was that his dad lost his job.

"What's going on?" Jongin asked hesitantly, walking towards the kitchen, seeing his sisters sitting at the table with his mom.

"Jongin, we have good news!" his mom said happily, smiling at his dad.

"I got a job opportunity in Daegu!" his dad said happily as he turned to Jongin, "I took it because I'd be getting more money with that job!"

Jongin smiled widely and hugged his dad, congratulating him. His dad thanked Jongin, and his mom said they'd have to move to Daegu of course, even though she knew Jongin figured that out already. Jongin was thinking they would wait until the end of the school year until they moved, as the school year was not too far from ending. Only some exams and he was free for a bit until the next school year, and his final one.

"We have to move soon though unfortunately. We tried to see if you could take your exams before we moved, but you might have to take your's early because we have two weeks to mmove to Daegu." his mom said.

Jongin understood knew his dad just couldn't go himself, as the family only had one car. There'd be no way he they could take two trips to Daegu. I'm sure they could take a moving van there, but renting one could cost a lot and I don't think his family wanted to take two trips either. He nodded, still smiling, happily understanding. It didn't really hit him right away because he was so happy for his dad, that he would have to either stop seeing Jongdae, or figure out a way to make a long distance relationship work. He didn't want to do either, but he knew he couldn't control his family's decisions.

As Jongdae arrived home, he rushed up to his room to do some homework and study a little bit for an upcoming exam. He sat at the desk in his room, took out everything he needed from his bag, and started working. Of course, he turned off his phone so he wouldn't get distracted. He was unaware Jongin was trying to get his attention to talk to him. When Jongin realized Jongin's phone was probably off, after no reply in half an hour, he just shrugged and started getting ready for the little date he had planned for him and Jongdae. 

That night, the two spent it in the park on a walk, Jongdae wearing his favorite hoodie of Jongin's, smiling like a happy little child. Jongin glanced at Jongdae every now and then and smiled. He loved seeing his boyfriend happy. Jongin could feel himself getting more sad as he noticed how happy Jongdae is with him, and knowing he'd have to move hurt him. He didn't want Jongdae to be sad. He wanted Jongdae to always be happy. He just smiled, pretending nothing was going to be happening within a few weeks. He just wanted to be happy with Jongdae for tonight. Stopping in the middle of the park, he pulled Jongdae close, wrapping his arms around Jongdae's waist, leaning in slowly to give Jongdae's lips a soft kiss. Jongdae wrapped his arms around Jongin's neck and closed his eyes, not caring about everyone who was staring, he kissed Jongin back passionately. Jongin began kissing back just as passionately, tightening his grip on Jongdae's waist.

This kiss, was not like any kiss they had before. Both their emotions towards each other were in that kiss. The love they had for each other was right there, and they were both passionate about each other. Neither of them wanted to be seperated from each other. Jongin's grip on Jongdae's waist stayed tight the entire kiss, because did little did Jongdae know, Jongin holding him so tightly was him saying he didn't want to let him go. He didn't want to lose the one who made him so happy, so safe, and so comfortable being himself.

They pulled away and smiled at each other. Looking into each other's eyes, Jongdae noticed some sort of negative emotion in Jongin's eyes. Jongin kissed Jongdae's forehead gently and looked into his eyes once again before smiling.

"I love you so much, hyung." Jongin said softly.

"I love you too." Jongdae said, hugging Jongin.

The two stayed like that, hugging each other. Jongin held Jongdae against, him, petting his hair softly, and Jongdae rested his head on Jongin's shoulder. Jongin swayed gently, not wanting to let go of the older one. He just couldn't. But he knew he'd have to for tonight, and then he can see him tomorrow. Jongin just wanted to spend as much time as he could with his boyfriend, before he may have to leave for good.


	3. Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongin finally has to leave, but still has not told Jongdae. Things do not go so well, and both end up feeling guilty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I am very sorry if this chapter is a bit crappy, I had a plot idea in mind (finally), but I wasn't too sure how to make it work. Hopefully it's decent!

Jongin stood outside the school building, looking straight out the exit that lead to the road him and Jongdae would take home. He wanted to cry, knowing he would have to say goodbye, but he still hadn't told Jongdae he had to leave. He really wanted to, but he didn't want to hurt Jongdae at all. With all the strength he knew he had, he wasn't sure it was enough to be honest with his boyfriend, someone he knew he should always be completely honest with. He sighed, looking around to see if Jongdae had gotten out yet, hoping he could quickly leave and then call him later to explain.

As Jongin was about to make a run for it, something he never expected he'd do to Jongdae, he heard his boyfriend call his name. He put on a fake smile and greeted Jongdae happily, giving him a hug. The two pulled away after a few seconds and Jongdae asked if they should get going. Jongin wanted to decline, but he knew if he did, Jongdae would be confused to why he didn't want to spend the last few moments together before they had to do a long distance relationship. Jongin nodded in response, and they began walking.

Jongin hesitantly looked over at Jongdae, and chewed his lip. He wanted to speak, but he couldn't figure out what he wanted to say. He didn't want to say the wrong thing, but he didn't want to be silent. Jongin stopped walking and looked at his feet. Jongdae stopped a few seconds later and looked back at Jongin with concern. Jongin was playing with his fingers as he slowly looked up at the older one.

"What's wrong, Jongin?" Jongdae asked, walking over to him.

Jongin hugged Jongdae, holding back tears that stung his eyes. Jongdae, completely shocked at Jongin's sudden hug, hugged back gently.

"I'm so sorry..." Jongin said, burying his face in Jongdae's neck.

"For what?" 

"For not being honest with you." Jongin said as he let the tears flow, "I have to move away today. I couldn't bring myself to tell you because I didn't want to hurt you, but now I'm sure I'm hurting you more by just springing this on you, but I just want you happy."

Jongin hugged Jongdae for a couple minutes before pulling away. As soon as he did, he was suddenly slapped. Really hard. Jongdae looked Jongin in the eyes, trying not to sound angry when he spoke.

"If you didn't want to hurt me, you would've been honest with me and you would've told me sooner."

With that Jongdae stormed off, refusing to look back at Jongin. He never made it clear if the two were over or not, which hurt Jongin. The people who walked passed Jongin didn't seem to happy about the event that just took place. Jongin ran after Jongdae, pushing through people in the crowded streets of Seoul, hoping he could work something out. The tears were now streaming down Jongin's face as he searched for Jongdae, but was unsuccessful in finding him. He sighed and decided to head home and call Jongdae before he left.

Jongdae aimlessly wandered the streets hoping to lose Jongin. He didn't want to see him right now, he couldn't. He didn't want to face him. He didn't want to talk to him. He didn't want to think about him. Not right now. Not when he feels like this. Jongdae rested against a building to catch his breath, hoping to hold back tears. He couldn't believe what just happened, he couldn't believe Jongin lied to him.

It was bad enough he'd have to leave, but it was even worse he lied. Jongdae looked at the hand that slapped Jongin, feeling a tear hit his hand. He slapped Jongin. He was starting to realize how upset Jongin was about all of this, and he realized his response probably made everything worse, and then he ran away. He just left. Jongdae slid to the ground and hugged his knees, realizing he might've fucked everything up.

Jongin was close to arriving home when Jongdae called him. He wanted to pick up, but he was scared Jongdae wanted to break up, so he declined the call and turned off his phone. He couldn't believe it. This is how they would say goodbye. A fight. A fight is how they might say goodbye forever. Jongin really wanted this to work out, but maybe it just wasn't meant to.

'Why am I such an ass?' he thought to himself.

He wished he could turn back time and fix all of this, but unfortunately that was no possible. He wanted to cry, but he's have to get into a car soon, so he'd have to hold back his tears and his anger. The last thing he wanted to do was worry anyone. However, he didn't realize he was worrying Jongdae, who was wondering why he wasn't answering his calls and texts. Jongdae was walking home. trying to get a hold of Jongin. When he suddenly remembered they lived close by, he rushed home, hoping to make it before they left.

However, by the time he got there, the car was gone, which only meant he was too late. Jongdae began sobbing, realizing he might not be able to fix anything at this point. He walked home, trying to calm down. He tried one last time to get a hold of Jongin, but was unsuccessful. He took one look down the road to the direction of the house that used to be Jongin's and sighed softly.

"I'm sorry, jagi..." Jongdae said before he began to walk home.


	4. Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongin and Jongdae make up, but the long distance is killing them. Jongin saves up to go back to Jongdae for a day, making Jongdae really excited.

Jongin woke up the next morning and groaned as the sun light was blinding him. He rolled over and saw his phone on the nightstand. He grabbed and turned it on. He jumped awake when he saw how many missed calls and texts he had. Most were from Jongdae. He sat up in his bed and looked through Jongdae's messages. Guilt washed over him when he saw Jongdae had tried to message him for hours without luck. However, there was one message that caught Jongin's eye.

"Please Jongin, I didn't mean to hurt you, physically or emotionally. I was just upset and in shock. I want to talk to you, I just want to know you're not mad at me..." is what it read.

Jongin could feel tears stinging his eyes as he reread the message. He was snapped out of his thoughts quickly when he heard his mother calling him to come to the kitchen. Jongin scrambled out of bed and speed walked into the kitchen. He greeted his mother cheerfully and sat at the table. Of course, Jongin was still upset about him and Jongdae, but he hid it from his mother, as he didn't want to worry her. His mom placed some food in front of her, and Jongin thanked her as she did.

"You seemed a bit upset yesterday." his mother said as she sat across from him, "Why's that?"

Jongin bit his lip nervously at the question, wondering how he was going to answer that. Before he could answer, his mom said something else that made his heart begin to race.

"Your cheek was also red, did someone hit you?"

Jongin shook his head quickly. Although he hated lying to his mother, he wasn't ready to explain everything.

"Ah, no I fell on the way home. I was kind of upset about leaving my friends that I must have not been looking where I was going." Jongin lied, hoping his mother would buy it.

His mother gave Jongin a look that she knew part of that was a lie, but nodded and began eating breakfast. Jongin began eating as well, looking at the clock. He wondered if he was starting at his new school that day, or the next. His mother noticed his constant glancing at the clock and chuckled. 

"You're not starting school until tomorrow, so you can rest today." she said with a soft smile.

Jongin smiled back and continued eating, happy he had a reason to take a nap later on in the day. His mom noticed the boost in her son's mood and smiled more widely. That morning was one of the most relaxing mornings Jongin had in a while. Even though in the back of his mind, he was panicking about Jongdae, he knew it was best to clear his head before he spoke to Jongdae.

Once he got back into his room, he sat on his bed and looked at his phone sitting in front of him. He slowly grabbed it, looking at the read messages from Jongdae's friends, asking Jongin what happened between the couple. Jongin sighed, and opened the messages from Jongdae. He began typing his reply, stopping every now and then to either correct a sentence or two, or to question if what he wanted to say sounded correct in the way he worded it. Once he was satisfied, he pressed send. He stared for a couple minutes at the text. Something in his mind was telling him Jongdae hated him and he slowly began believing that. He put the phone in front of him once again, sitting there on the bed as he tried to hold back tears.

"Why was I such a horrible boyfriend?" Jongin asked himself.

Jongdae had seen the notification for Jongin's text, but ignored it. He was scared it was him trying to break up, and he wasn't ready to have a relationship with someone who really made him happy come to an end. The tears rolled down his cheeks with no end, as he wondered what he was going to do at this point. After a few minutes, he sighed and looked at the text Jongin had sent. He read it a couple times, maybe even three, before realizing it wasn't a break up message. He sat up quickly and began typing a reply.

The two, who were both still in tears, talked things out, and both realized the other loved them too much to even try and hate each other or to end the relationship. This cheered the both of them up, and they began talking as if nothing bad ever happened between them. However, they did miss each other because of the distance.

"Hey, what if I try and go over there to see you?" Jongin messaged Jongdae.

"Nini, it's too far to walk here" Jongdae replied.

"What if I got a job and saved up to go visit you?"

"I would love that so much!"

Of course, Jongdae just thought Jongin was only trying to cheer him up. That was until Jongin said, "It's settled! I'll go job hunting after school tomorrow!" which made Jongdae worried. He did not want Jongin to overwork himself. He insisted Jongin waits until summer, but Jongin was determined to get a job and go see Jongdae. He wanted to see his boyfriend as soon as he could. He was going to do anything to get him to Jongdae. Jongin promised Jongdae he'd continue to do well in school and get plenty of rest. He also made sure Jongdae promised to continue getting good grades for him, which Jongdae happily agreed to.

Talking with Jongdae again made Jongin smile. And just as he said he would, he went job hunting the next day after school. He found a part time job at a convenience store, and worked there. He saved up his money. He got plenty of rest. His grades were slipping a bit, but he brought them back up right away. He worked hard to make sure he could make everyone happen. Some days had their ups and their downs, but he was determined to do well. He was proud of himself, and he was sure Jongdae and his parents were too. Jongin had one more payday left before he had enough money to go and be able to spend the day with Jongdae, and then come back. He was really excited, and when he told Jongdae over the phone he could tell the older one was too.

"I'm going to be in your arms again!" Jongdae said happily.

Jongin chuckled and promised himself to make that day very special for Jongdae.


End file.
